Witch's Brew
by wanderlust-bitethedust
Summary: Caroline is the last witch in the world. That might not be true, but she is the only witch left from her kingdom and that is all that really matters to her. After her kingdom was laid siege to by her once trusted friend. Caroline hid away from the world and was content to live in solitude, undisturbed and uninterrupted. Until now. AU. Klaroline. Witch!Caroline
1. Prologue

Everything was underneath his feet. Everything. And so was she. Her hair was matted, long, and tangled. She was a dirty little flea. Her gown a tattered mess of once gleaming metal and silk. But her eyes still glowed with fire. She might be underneath his feet but she was an annoying roach that refused to die when stepped on.

Her impertinent burned him. The fire scorched his veins and face, he almost screamed. But he kept face. She could not win when he already won.

So he smiled. He opened his arms waiting to embraced. "Caroline," his voice only a whisper that disrupted the cloud of silence between them.

She said nothing. She kept her head down and her eyes firmly on the shackles that were bound to the ground. Her hands clenched and unclenched. He smiled. He had won.

She was a gorgeous woman when she wasn't so dirty. Maybe be could keep her for bed warming. Yes, fucking her would keep her silent and complacent. Teach her to tease him all those years before.

"Have you missed me, Caroline?" he asked. He could not help but notice that she was staining the solid gold of the floors. Before she came to him they would have to clean her. He could already imagine those luscious curves underneath his hands and those plump lips caressing his. Yes, this would work and that would do nicely. "Get those chains off her. She is my friend. We've been friends for decades."

The guard that had been standing by her side shuffled closer turning the key into the long padlock. It opened with a loud groan before it shuddered off her body and was dragged to the ground by its massive weight. He smiled wider when she shifted, arching her back to get out the various kinks that being curled up made. He enjoyed looking at her full breasts. Audible pops resounded as her vertebrate shifted back into their proper positions. He stood.

"Caroline! I've missed you!"

He made his way over to her, guards right on his haunches, hands on their swords as they stood at the ready. Ah, so ready for blood. They had been trained well. He watched as she lifted her eyes up and they still burned him. He tried to revel in the pain.

"Caroline, darling, I apologize if they treated you too roughly. I told them to be gentle." His grin never faltered. And she only answered with a huff of air. He continued, aching to fill the silence. "After everything you've been through you deserve a break."

She grunted. And he sighed. "What?" he asked. "Nothing to say?"

"We…" she started before a cough ripped through her throat. Her body gave strong spasms as she coughed but he only looked on waiting for her to continue. She was talking to him and that was better than he expected. He thought that she would be mute the whole time that they would be together. Which would be forever if he had any say in it. Finally, her coughs subsided and she continued in a hoarse voice.

"We were friends. We played under the sun together as children. We used to confess over childish loves to one another. I invited you into my home, my kingdom as I always do for _Sillellhaim_. And you kill my loved ones. Destroy my kingdom. Why? We were friends, Damon." She openly wept in front of him and his face softened. He could never stand to see that face, the face that he loved so much, cry about something so stupid.

He shushed her, bending down so that he could wipe her tears from those dirty cheeks. "You were a tease." Caroline's eyes widened and she had the gall to look confused. He wanted to gouge her eyes out. How could she look so confused. He thought he wasn't aware of her stringing him along since their childhood? How dare she!

"A dreadful horrible tease," he said. His fingers ran through her hair, tugging on the knots and ripping hair out of her pretty little head. She would soon learn to enjoy it he was sure. She gave a mewl of pain and he reveled in it. "Always taunting me. I saved you from that Augustine trashs and yet you still refused me, Caroline."

Damon sighed. His eyes wandered her form one more time before he sighed again. His eyes stared into her own as her lifted her by her hair. Tears pooled at the corner of her eyes, but her couldn't feel anything at that.

"Tell me you love me," he demanded. Caroline's eyes were flat as they stared at him. Once again he felt that burning when she refused him. It started in his face and then traveled down to his stomach. Oh, yes she would learn soon who was on top. She said nothing so he commanded her again.

"Tell me you love me."

"You can burn in the firey pits of Hell for all that you've done."

He lost his cool. His face became a deep red that matched his red robes. Veins throbbed at his temples and his nostrils flared. He did not deserve this treatment. He had done everything for her. Everything. And all he wanted was simple affection for all his effort. Why could she not love him after everything that he had done for her? Was she stupid? Could she not see the love that poured from his bones?

He slapped her. If she could not see he would carve it into her skin so she would never forget it.

"Take her to the dungeon and teach the bitch a lesson! Then clean her up and bring her back to me!"

She was dragged away and Damon returned to his seat fuming. The whole time those eyes he loved burned his face.


	2. I Love the Way You Hold Me (Down)

**[Present Day]**

Her back ached.

Every morning that she woke up, she woke up to the stinging, burning sensation that was the scars on her back. Some days the pain would be so unbearable all she could do was cry and scream her throat hoarse. She would scream knowing no one would hear her. No one was going to come and help her.

Today was one of the good days. Her back merely ached and she had none of the horrible gut wrenching pain that she usually did. No her back merely ached and for that she was grateful.

Caroline lifted herself slowly from the bed, she did not want to turn a good day into a bad one. She walked into the bathroom with her slow gait. Today she would go into town and get groceries. She had too, she was running low on almost everything. Caroline's first thought of town was the eyes. Many were wary of a young looking girl living all alone in a cottage in the woods.

What could she be doing there all by herself? They would whisper amongst themselves. Why would she want to be all alone and so far from town? They wondered. It did not help that children were curious and liked to come and see the odd white woman who lived in the woods by herself. The children would hear her scream some days and run back to town spreading the news like fire. And then the townspeople would whisper about her screaming.

Was she entertaining _guest_? One would say. You mean selling her body? Another would correct. Look at how slow she moves, she must be sick! A third would chime in.

Ah yes, every time that she visited town there was some new rumor going on about her. Some new morsel of information that they had garnered about her from her last trip. Every time she went the eyes of the townsfolk would watch her, waiting, vultures ready for her to drop secrets that they would snatch up, eager to be the first to know.

Caroline wanted to laugh. Oh, this foolish town with its foolish people. So eager to learn what she hid, but they would be the first to hurt her should they find out what she truly was. She was happy to let them indulge in their idle gossip and guessing.

They were no closer to discovering the truth than their grandparents were.

* * *

It was on days like this the Caroline missed the company of others. When the sun was shining and there was something purely ethereal in the air. She could feel the magic burning in her veins, it burned to be let out. To become one with the nature that it should have never been separated from in the first place. But then she would feel it. That burning pain from that dreaded mark on her back and she would pause. The magic in her veins would slither and fade away, as if it hadn't even awoken.

On days like this she wished for people. She wished for _her people_ so that when she cried when her magic burned her they would shush her and understand. Caroline missed that most of all. She missed having people who understood everything that you were going through. She missed having people who knew what she was going through. She missed living among other wishes.

She missed Bonnie and Elena and god despite her complex relationship with her mother she missed her too. Somedays Caroline wondered if it was worth even getting up in the morning. Everyone that she loved was gone and there was no one left not even a servant who she could talk to. But then she lifted herself from the ground and sighed because this melancholy person is not who her friends, her family, or her people loved. They loved her when she was perky and happy. And she would continue to be that way Besides if Damon's ghost could see her smiling from Hell then it made smiling all the sweeter.

She shrugged on her cloak which was just a thin sheet made of blue faded fabric and wandered out the door. Her home was a small cottage. It was nothing like the reaching spires and the sprawling lands of her youth, but with its ivy covered trellis, cute red door, matching shutters, and small garden that Caroline painstaking maintained it was something. It almost looked whimsical. It almost looked like magic.

It was the closest that Caroline was going to get to magic ever again, but these were the types of thoughts that she avoided.

She walked through the wood and into the now with relative ease and a steady gait. Nothing disturbed her while she made her way through the forest and she disturbed nothing but the dirt underneath her feet. She loved the forest, she loved the air and the trees. She loved the animals and how they minded their own loved the freedom and anonymity that the forest provided. Here she was not Caroline the last witch and she was not the scary woman who lived in the forest. No here she was no one.

When Caroline step foot out of the forest and into the bustling street that sense of being no one evaporated. Every eye in the bustling street lingered over her form, assessing and checking but never outright staring. No, they were too afraid of her to stare plainly. That was for children who did not know better.

She wondered why they were so wary of her after all this time. She was nice, she smiled at the people and she never dared to short change any of the people who worked in the market. But still there was suspicion. There was fear and Caroline sometimes wanted nothing more than wipe the fear from their eyes. She wanted them to look at her like she wasn't different; like she wasn't a monster.

" _You can't be what you are and be my daughter."_

The words rang in her ears like she stood too close to church bells as they went off. No, she could not be the last witch and be like one of these people. She could not be one of them. Caroline was never one of them to begin with. Isolation was easier.

And so she went about her business. Caroline did as she usual did and went to the usual merchants. She sampled their wares, asking in their native tongue whether or not such-and-such produce was good but haggling a little (if you can call getting it the price you want due to fear haggling) and then putting her things away and making her way back to her little forest cottage away from the town.

When she reached her home she allowed herself to cry. She cried because she knew when she did cry, when she did break, when she did have moments of weakness, there would be no one's arms to wrap around her.

* * *

Sometimes she had dreams.

Horrible disgusting dreams that made her scream, caught in between a nightmare and reality. It was on those nights that she knew that the Others were trying to contact her to speak to her once again by the unbearable burning of her back.

It was on those nights that she would scream in pain and howl. Her back burning senselessly as the magic tried to push through her and tell her _something_. But the pain was too great to bear and there was no way that she would be able to do what the Others were asking. She could barely receive their message without tears. No, Caroline would shut her ears and let the burning run her through and she would cry and cry and sweat and scream. And then she would fall into nothingness.

It was best that way.

* * *

Caroline opened her eyes to dancing dust most and dappling sunlight that seemed more cheery than she.

Caroline had had another dream. It was a horrible one that held bright white lights and an urgent sense to _go go go, run run run_. But Caroline could barely run on a good day with that pain that scorched her back. No, she would not be running anyway thank you.

She sat the small table that she had with two chairs though no one ever occupied the second seat.

After such a night with such urgent haunting dreams, Caroline wonders about Damon and everything that had happened between them. She wonders about the world that she could have had if she had only not rejected Damon's feelings that first time around. Maybe her kingdom would be together and yes she would not have been married to someone that she loved but she would not be alone in a cottage with breakfast for two with only one person eating.

But then she shakes her head. Being alone is better than being someone's pet.

* * *

One day when she was younger before everything went to shit. She remembers going to her mother. She was thirteen and Dorian, her first crush, had been unjustly cruel to her. His words stung saying that he favored Elena over her and that she would never amount to anything. And of course, like any girl she had ran to her mother.

Her mother was a hard woman and ruling a kingdom all on her lonesome had made her harder. At times Caroline wondered if her mother even cared about her because anytime Caroline talked, Elizabeth only gave her this cool look that she gave everyone. Elizabeth never looked at people she looked through them.

Thus Caroline went to her mother and cried into her dress. Elizabeth did not hug her nor did she say anything she just let Caroline have her moment. When Caroline pulled away she shyly looked down at her feet wanting nothing more than to fall into the floor. It was embarrassing enough that she was crying and in front of her mother too.

Elizabeth waved a hand and Caroline's tear stains floated up off the dress and hover precariously in the air. Elizabeth spoke then, her eyes on the small ball of water.

"Let me tell you something Caroline. Something I know will be useful to you in the coming years…

Men do not love women. Women are nothing more than warm bodies at night and nuisances during the day. Pretty stepping stones on the path to their goals. No, men do not love women. No, men...They love power! And there is nothing more that men hate than women with power. Men will flock to you my dear, wanting that power. They will manipulate you and put you through their machinations. Sure, maybe they will love your face, send you body to heaven and back. But men will never love women in power. Not as long as they think that power should be theirs."

Elizabeth looked at her daughter and Caroline was frozen, her feet melded to the floor. This was the first time her mother had ever looked at her, truly looked at her. Her eyes were daggers and cold. Her mother's eyes were cold and Caroline was sure and prayed with all her twelve year old soul that her mother would continue only to look through her. She could not handle this stare of a woman so cold she burned.

Elizabeth made a fist and the ice froze with a sharp crack. It glittered and shone where it was suspended and Elizabeth's eyes went back to it.

She continued, her voice low, "Men will never love you my daughter. Not when when you have power. So harden your heart. Men want nothing more than to tear it apart."

Caroline never cried to her mother after that thinking that she would not listen to her. Someone would love her. Someone whose love would be all consuming.

But mother knew best.

* * *

She had the dreams again and she screamed all night long.

She wanted to run. The dream told her it was the smartest thing to do, but she _couldn't_. Caroline woke from the dream with sweat plastered to her forehead and a scream burning her throat.

She could not run anymore; any farther.

* * *

Despite having two nights in a row of horrible gut wrenching dreams and burning pain she awoke that morning with little to no pain. She almost felt normal. Caroline was bouncing on the balls of her feet the whole day. This was amazing!

She had almost forgotten what it had felt like to be pain free! To be herself again. Caroline moved around the room. She was going as fast as any normal person would maybe a step or two slower, but she wasn't in agony anymore.

Caroline dropped a fork and bent at the waist to pick it but. Nothing but a slight twinge erupted from her back. Caroline smiles, trying and failing to hold in the squeal that was going to erupt from her mouth. Today was going to be a good day and everything was going to go well today.

She could feel it in her not aching bones.

To commemorate the occasion, Caroline decided to wear one of her nicer dresses to go into town today. She went to her closet. Dull browns and slate grays looked back at her but hidden deep within the recesses of her closet was a baby blue sundress that she snatched right off the hanger.

Caroline put it on with ease and twirled around in front of her mirror. She laughed as the skirt flowed up, the fabric kissing her thighs as it settled down again. Caroline smiled and struck a pose. She thought about the poses that she saw models make when they were on covers and began her shoddy imitations. She made a couple with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed in a pout. Caroline laughed and struck another pose, one with her back turned and her head poised to look over her shoulder.

She paused.

She could see the scar on her back. The large ugly garish thing that marked her. That depicted her days with Damon. It was large and it was pink, freckled with gray and it was the most painful blemish that she had ever had. Caroline wanted to crawl out of her own. She did not want to be in this body anymore. She did not want to be in this body with its horrible reminders and pain.

She did not want to be Caroline Forbes anymore if it meant that she would always be reminded that she is the victim that is never saved. She was the one that was left for the wolves and expected to survive.

Before she left she put a shawl over her shoulders.

* * *

Getting into the town was easy as she took her usual route and when she stepped onto the sidewalk she could already feel something amiss.

People were staring.

Not the peek and then glance away. No, the townsfolk were outright staring at her.

Their eyes weren't even moving to look at every inch of her they just simply stayed trained on her face. Caroline didn't know why but she got the sense that they were looking for something, they were trying to find something about her. But that was a stupid notion. She had never given anything away about herself that would cause the sudden interest and from her memory, none of the local boys had come around to her part of the forest daring each other to challenge "the witch". So why all the staring?

Caroline pulled her shawl closer, feeling naked under all the eyes. She would just get her things and go. This was much more attention that she needed or wanted. Caroline would just get things and go. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Maybe she would flash a smile and wave before she left and that would lower all the tension in the town. Actually, maybe she wouldn't do that because that would be so out of character considering the way that she acts within the town. No, she would just get her fruit and then she would leave. That was the best thing that she could do now.

She kept a steady gait when she walked into the small market square. The moment that her foot touched the ground it was as if ice crept inside of everyone as they all froze. More eyes watched her every move. Men ignored the radio that was playing a soccer match as she shuffled down the the fruit stand. The owner of the fruit stand just looked at her with wide eyes and Caroline readily just shoved fruit into a plastic bag not even bothering to see what she grabbed.

When Caroline dug into her purse to pay the woman cried out backing away from the stand, away from Caroline.

" _Please! Take what you want witch! Leave this place! Do not harm me please!"_

Caroline froze. What?

Was this what everyone was thinking? But, she had thought that they had grown out of this? That only children believed that she was witch. But it explained all the stares. It explained why the atmosphere was so tense. It explained so much.

She didn't even take the fruit when she left the town.

* * *

Caroline stayed up that night because she knew that they were going to come for her. But that didn't mean she was just going to let them take her. She had moved around before and she would do it again. Starting over was hard but it wasn't impossible. Maybe where she went to this time around she would get a couple of friends. Some people who she could talk to.

When the sun was low in the sky and cricket were beginning their song just when Caroline was leaving her house. The only things she had were a bag filled with some clothes and money. There was no need to bring anything else. It would only slow her down.

But when she exited the house they were already waiting for her.

The mayor of the town held a flashlight out towards her. Men surrounded him, but they were not townies. No, they were all wearing tactical gear with guns strapped to every part of their bodies. Dogs lay down at their feet, German Shepherds ready to pounce when told. Caroline just looked at them and simply dropped her bag.

"I-I-I'm sorry. But your too much of a menace to the town," the man said slowly in English. Caroline only shook her head. No. "These men here showed me that."

This couldn't be happening. Her eyes flickered everywhere and one of the men stepped forward removing his helmet and the visor that covered his eyes.

"Hello Caroline."

" _Stefan?"_

He only smiled and spread his arms out wide. A grin stretched across his handsome face and all she wanted to do was scratch those eyes out of his head. He watched as she was tortured and only offered pretty words to express his sadness at her predicament. He never once thought about going against his precious older brother.

"You can come quietly Caroline or I can just take you." He said without preamble.

"I killed Damon," she said lowly. She thought of the burning castle and how she had gleefully watched Damon try to escape while she kept a barrier around the castle, keeping everyone inside. No, he was dead, there was no way that he could have survived.

Stefan's eyes hardened at the mention of his brother, but he continued. "Well, I'm not taking you to him. My employer wants you."

"For what?" She felt a little guilty about feeling relieved at the reaffirmation of Damon's demise but that was swallowed up by her burning anger at Stefan. Who was he to come here and disrupt her life. The one that she fought to create after everything that Damon had put her through.

Stefan laughed. "You'll see." Stefan sat down on a rock and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Her nose curled when he lit it and the scent of smoke wafted over to her. She would be going nowhere with Stefan especially when she knew that he cared nothing for her wellbeing.

"Get her."

Caroline turned around and ran into her house. She closed the door and locked it even though she knew that it wouldn last long. She ran into the back of the house and looked for something to defend herself men were slamming against the door with fervor as the tried to get into her home.

Caroline whimpered as she looked around the room. She needed a weapon and she needed it now. She looked towards the knife that lay in the sink and grabbed right when the door burst open. Without thinking she charged.

Caroline snaked her body between two of the men and stabbed their uncovered arms. The dropped their weapons and Caroline was about to slit the throat of one of them before a third member tackled her.

The knife slid out of her hands and they grappled on the ground, Caroline pinned underneath this foreigner. But the weight, pressure of being forced somewhere when all she wanted to do was run was all too familiar. Caroline screamed as she let the magic pour out of her.

Her back burned but not as much as the fire that burned the man on top of her. He screamed and rolled off of her and caroline took that moment to grab her knife and turn to the one that she had stabbed in the arm. He loosely aimed a gun at her crouched form. Her back burned horribly at her use of magic, reprimanding her for using it so carelessly given her condition but she had never felt more _alive_.

"Don't move." he growled. Caroline relaxed and let the magic surge through her. Suddenly, pain surge through her leg and her knees grew weak. She looked down confused and fearful now. She saw the man then, horribly burnt and grinning.

"Fuck you bitch."

The world was swimming around her but she could only focus on the man with the gun pointed straight at her. "Don't."

Shot rang in her ears and she fell like a puppet cut from its strings.

Caroline really needed to learn that there were no such thing as good days.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello everyone! Thank you all for all the love for this story despite the first chapter being super short with very little context. I hope everyone enjoys this story and reviews. Klaus hasn't showed up yet, but he will in the next chapter I swear!

Well, what do you think is going on? Do you think Caroline is dead? Who is Stefan's employer? What did you think about the little tidbits about Caroline's past? Where is Klaus and what exactly is he up to?

That will all be revealed next time. Speaking of next time I was just wondering if anyone wanted to be the beta reader for this story. It isn't going to be that difficult to be my beat reader. Essentially you get to read the chapter early, edit it, and help me whenever I get stuck. Other than that the only responsibility you have is just to keep me writing daily and be my friend!

Until Next Time,

wanderlust-bitethedust


	3. Faux Pas

Trigger Warning: Mentions of drug use, slight torture/experimentation, sexual harassment

* * *

The room was spinning. She felt as if the world had been tilted on its axis. Her eyes could not focus. The world was only a mass of rolling grays and bright lights that made something behind her eyes ache. Her heart was in her throat, constricting her breathing and making it that much harder to stop the world from spinning.

Caroline closed her eyes but still the sense of vertigo wouldn't leave her. She squeezed her eyes closed, tensing her body, and curling into herself with a moan. She was stuck in this spinning, spiraling hell with no one to help her. She did not know how long she stayed there, curled up and spinning in darkness, but then a cool hand smoothed her hair.

The horrible vertigo distracted her from the heat of her skin. Blearly opening her eyes she sought out the hand again. Needing the hand to cool her. The hand returned again, going from her forehead to card through her hair, massaging her scalp lightly. Caroline gave a whimper of thanks.

Still disorientated Caroline just laid them, enjoying the soothing that the hand was doing. The hand's owner chuckled.

"Like a satisfied cat."

Caroline turned her head towards him, the voice was male. Her eyes still swam but she tried to focus. She could see the golden-brown of his hair and Caroline reached out to touch, but he stopped her.

"Uh-uh," the voice laughed. "And to think that this is the same person that killed my brother and my men."

Caroline stopped. She squinted narrowing her focus on the eyes. She needed to see his eyes. "Stefan?" Her tongue was slow and heavy and her mouth felt dry. Stefan gave another laugh before he moved away with this cooling presence.

"Welcome to the Facility."

"Wha—"

"Top notch equipment. Top notch scientist. All just to handle special patients like you."

"Me?"

Stefan was talking too fast. She couldn't keep up, her mind felt heavy. Her body felt heavy. She needed to sleep. She wanted to go back to the spiraling dark. She won't have to strain her mind to keep up with Stefan then. She laid back down. If Stefan wanted to keep talking she would lie here and let his monologue lull her to sleep.

"Yes. Witches. You see the elite are always looking for new entertainment and beauty regimens. And new ways to avoid death. And what better way to do that than with magic? Witches with your exceptional long life spans and beauty make the perfect test subjects.

"Besides that your magic can also help develop stunning technology. Governments pay a lot of money when we find new ways to kill each other. Magic is a new avenue that we intend to pioneer and that will give us a lot of money."

"Us?"

Stefan shushed her. He brought his hand back to her face and she leaned into the touch with a sigh. He was so cool against her skin. Stefan;s breath fanned her face and her mind sluggishly thought that she should not be enjoying his touch at all.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Just sleep. You're going to have a bust day tomorrow."

He was right. She was tired. She needed to sleep. Caroline listened to Stefan and she curled back into herself, into her safe little bubble. She went away from the lights, away from Stefan and his confusing talk, and settled into sleep. She was going to have a busy day tomorrow.

* * *

Her body arched off the bed like a bow. All her muscles were taut, her body holding the uncomfortable position for interminable seconds before she just collapsed. The flesh of her ankles and wrist were raw from the restraints pulling against her skin and she let the pain wash over her.

Caroline sobbed helplessly as the men in white coats scribbled words down onto their clipboards. They shot quick words at each others as they exchanged notes. Caroline didn't care what they were saying though. She was hurt. Her body ached and her heart was pounding in her throat.

Tears blurred her vision and all that she could see was white. She hated the color white. Everything here was white, from the floors, to the ceiling, to the clothes that everyone wore. She hated the color. It was so unstimulating.

"Another trial."

The world was becoming smaller. Caroline's breath came out more rapidly through her parted lips. She couldn't see what they were fiddling with behind the panel. And she needed to use the restroom. No, no, no. They won't let her have a bathroom break. No doing so would screw the data. But would there be any harm in asking maybe one of them was humane, if she could get even one of them to look at her with even the slightest bit of pity and concern then maybe she could—

"Increase to 35 kilojoules"

Her body arched off the bed like a bow.

 **[Line Break]**

The nights are when she sought her pleasure and received her shame.

At night that was when the guards would come with their doses. The guards entered the rooms in squads of three; two to hold the prisoner down and one to inject them. At first Caroline had fought them. She had fought them hard. Back then she had thought that the prick of the syringe would bring fire into her veins the same way that it did when the scientist "cleaned her blood". But no, these nightly doses were...different.

The first night that the needle pricked her skin and the guard pushed down on the plunger she was swept with warmth.

Warmth filled her veins and she felt light as a feather. Only good thought came in and Caroline could swear that she could smell the gardens on her childhood. Every muscle in her body relaxed, loosening one by one. Her mind slowed. Caroline slept easy through the night.

She was ashamed to say that the next night, while she fought she craved the needle.

It had been a while now since they had her hooked on the nightly dose. She didn't even bother fighting them now. She needed it to gain even the smallest sense of pleasure. She needed this. She needed it. When they entered her room she began sobbing. Heavy breathes choked her, throttling her. She didn't want to be this way. She hated that they made her become this way. This was not who she was.

Two men held her down and the last one brought the needle to her arm. Her arm was littered with tracks from the many nightly injections and daily test. She didn't like looking at her arms.

The needle went in. He pushed down. Caroline's head flew off.

* * *

"Patient 90A, tell me about yourself."

She stared.

"I know that all the tests and trials are hard on you. You've probably never been through something like this before."

She stared.

"Do you want to tell me about how witches came to be. Stefan says that it has something to do with being the descendent of faeries?"

She stared.

The doctor sighed. She rubbed her forehead.

"Wrong."

The doctor startled and Caroline was too. Was that her voice? The once melodic voice Caroline bragged about during choir as a child. No, that could not be hear voice. This place couldn't take that from her too.

"What am I wrong about?"

This place was Damon. This place had to be something of his creation. Why else would Stefan bring her here. This was revenge.

"I've been through worse."

Let Damon try to break her.

* * *

"Where are you?"

"Greenland. It's fucking cold out here. You'd think you'd see some nice grassy plains or a forest, but all I see here is ice."

"As much as I'd love to dispute the improper naming of Greenland, I need to know how much longer it will take until they are all broken."

"Only three are holding out, but we'll break them soon enough."

"How soon is soon?"

"Give me a week."

The line went dead.

* * *

There were two girls that Caroline felt a sort of kinship with in her time there. She did not know their names, but she felt a connection to the girls.

One of them was a dark haired girl with olive skin. She never saw her face, but she fought the guards with such fire that Caroline wished she could go out and help her. The girl practically burned with life as she bit, punched, and cursed the guards out. She never won. She never will win. But she fought them anyways and with everything that she had.

The other girl was small and brown skinned. She was shorter than Caroline's, but she held fire too. She did not out right fight the guards like the other girl, but she still defied them. She would hide herself and force the guards to look for her. She would steal things. She would trip them. And when she could do nothing more she would stare them down with a look that showed why Dante described the seventh level of hell as cold.

She felt close to these two girls because they fought. And seeing them fight inspired her to fight back too. She would antagonize the guards. Sometimes to the point that they hit her, but she never stopped until they knocked her unconscious or until they dropped her off at where ever she needed to be. They were the only ones left that were still actively resisting. All the others had long since broken. They cried pitifully in their cages and begged for death.

Some of them were already dead.

Caroline had to live though. She wanted Damon to see that no matter what happened to her and no matter what he did, she would live on and smile.

Besides it was only a matter of time before she would be able to burn this place down just like she did to Damon's castle.

* * *

Her least favorite doctor had a long crooked nose and a confident gait. Despite his short, stocky stature, blemished face and thick rimmed glasses he walked liked he was the hottest thing since the _Avengers_ (and Caroline had only seen the movie once and was highly attracted to all of them).

He was a talker too. He would drone on and on about the most mundane things. Caroline would some times wonder if this was one of their tests. Another trial to see how she would react. When he noticed that Caroline was not hanging on to his every word with rapt attention and adoration he made her suffer.

It wasn't her fault that he was boring.

Today he was the one that was administering a check up. They did these every once in awhile. Making sure that the deplorable conditions that they were kept in did not end up killing them from disease or something like that. Witches were a rare commodity and they had to be well taken care of. The thought made Caroline snort and the scientist glanced up at her before smiling with his yellowed teeth.

"Ah, yes. I found what the Prime Minister of Canada said very amusing too. Such quick wit that man has. It was an honor to meet him."

Caroline's thoughts began to tunnel. She wondered how her two friends back in the cages were. She wondered if they were okay. She mainly worried about the fighter. She had been injured in her last tussle with the guards. They had broken something and though Caroline did not see it she heard that sickening crack and knew it could be nothing but bone. She hoped that she was okay. Maybe these sick fucks would actually help her for once. But then Caroline thought better than that, they would probably want to see if pain tolerance was different in witches than it was in humans. Maybe they would use this moment to extract some bone marrow from her to examine. No, these people would not heal her, it was too golden of an opportunity for them to pass. They would probably—

Caroline grabbed his hand from her thigh. She turned her head to look at him.

"What are you doing?"

He gave her a greasy smile.

"I know that you must be suffering a lot in here. All the tests that we put you through. Trust me just administering and scheduling those tests gets tiring. So, I thought maybe you deserve a break you know. A chance to relax and feel good…" He tried to move his hand again, but Caroline tightened her grip.

Caroline didn't even think. She just punched him in the face.

Her hands both tightened into fist and she let them fly. She didn't care about where she hit or how hard but she needed to hit something. She hated this place and what it was doing to her. She hated this place and what it made her. She hated that she was alone. She hated that all her friends were gone. She hated that all she had left were memories that were fading away year by year. She hated Damon. She hated Stefan. She hated who she was right now.

A savage sound rang throughout the room. It was jarring and primal. It wasn't human. Hands gripped her shoulders and pulled her off of the man. His face was bloodied and beginning to swell, but that sound didn't cease.

It wasn't until they knocked her out that she knew it came from her.

* * *

"Where are you?"

"Following a lead, sir."

"Oh? On what?"

"There is a rumor floating about that Klaus might have finally found the witch that he needs."

"Really? And where is she?"

"Rumor has it that she might be somewhere in France."

"Klaus might already be there then."

"Undoubtedly."

"Bring the witch to me. And if you can bring Klaus too."

"Alive or dead sir?"

A laugh. "You know I don't care. I just want a body."

"Of course sir."

"Ah, Stefan I knew the moment that you came to me you would never let me down."

"I never intend to Mikael."

* * *

There is a specific type of fear that spreads throughout the body when you fear for your life. It starts in your chest, a heavy ball of fear and anger because how could this happen? And what is going to happen next are the most prevalent thoughts that run through the mind but overall the only emotion that can be accurately pinpointed is fear. And that fear, it becomes liquid. It melts into a heavy, thick sludge that trudges down from the heart and coils the stomach. It grips the brain and rattle the bones. This fear is all consuming and it warps how perception. Everything is a threat, everything is a danger.

This is what Caroline opened her eyes to. This fear was wrapped around her heart, and rattling her bones. The rapid firing of guns shook the facility and the sound of explosions made the girls in their cages beads inside a maraca.

Caroline was accustomed to fear, she was used to being scared and afraid, but she was not herself anymore. She wasn't the bubbly Princess Caroline, she wasn't the Witch who Lived in the Woods. She was a hollow form of who she was. If she didn't like herself before, she hated herself now. But she would live. Damon would see her smiling face from Hell. She would live just to spite him.

When the fire stopped and the explosion ended, men flooded into the room. They wore all black tactical gear, similar to the gear that Stefan and his men wore when they came to get her. The men went door to door, cooing at the girls cowering in the corner. They shot the locks off with their bigs guns and they coerced the girls out. The man who shot off her lock looked surprised when she didn't come out immediately. She stared at him from behind a shivering frame and throbbing ribcage.

"Aren't you going to leave?" he asked. He was English, his voice having that lilting accent that the English do.

She shrugs. "The last men who came for me dressed like you put me here."

"Sweetheart, I would never put you in another cage."

Caroline looked around. The other girls were being helped out, but even the girls that she connected with we're getting up and leaving. Caroline raised her nose to him, snuffing him. "What do you want then?"

"To stop this from happening again."

Her eyes narrowed. The words of her mother ringing in her ears, but with everything that had happened her words were dulled. Caroline was tired. She didn't want to fight alone anymore.

"Come on. I dare you to give me a chance."

And the fire was reignited. Caroline looked down at him from her nose and sighed. "What's your name?"

"Niklaus, but you can call me Klaus."

* * *

Author's Note:

I'm tired. Stay safe guys.

Until next time,

wanderlust-bitethedust


	4. Synonyms for Dead

She woke up to nothing but white. She didn't say anything but waited for the scientists to come and work on her like they did everyday for however long she had been in there. Caroline did not bother moving an inch off the cot. She simply stared at the ceiling, listening to the low hum of the air conditioning unit.

Caroline had a wonderful dream. There were guns and bullets and they had taken her away from the Facility. A British man with blue, green maybe?, eyes took her away, whispering to her about how he was trying to make sure that something like this never happened again. He had put her in the back of the truck with several of the other girls, hopped inside, and drop away. When they were far away enough he had given the signal and the explosion rattled the bed of the truck they were in. The girls all hunkered down, covering their heads. Caroline didn't move but stared at the billowing smoke.

Her British savior talked on a walkie-talkie, coordinating their route, but Caroline kept her eyes on the smoke cloud for as long as her tired eyes would allow her.

It was a wonderful dream.

* * *

"What's wrong with her?"

He looked through the one way glass, the air here was stale carefully filtered. It made his mouth dry and throat itch, but he would never show any signs of outward discomfort. Image was important and his image was what made everyone here work with such brutal efficiency. That and the pain of death.

The brown haired doctor, Mercy, Meurice, fuck her name started with an M. The M-named doctor moved around checking the vitals on computer and bringing up screen after screen of data, charts and readings that Klaus could never decipher if he even tried. M-named doctor was frantic, her lithe fingers flying over the keyboard as she tried to come up with an answer to his question.

Klaus tilted his head, and slid closer to the console. M-named doctor's eyes flickered to him but darted back to the keyboard and screen. Her breath became shallow and she seemed hyperfocused on finding an answer. He slid closer and she stopped, her breath halting in her throat.

"Well, doc?" Klaus asked. His lips gave a small twitch as M-named doctor scanned the screens again, but turning to him.

"She's- she's ah, catatonic," she said, eyes moving between the screens and him. Like a rabbit she was measuring the distance between him and escape. She was practically shaking in her seat, her leg jumping. Klaus gave a small smile.

"Catatonic?"

"Yeah, she, uh, she's catatonic. Not- nothing like a coma! She's awake! E-everything is fine if we ignore what had been done to her, but, uh, she just is kind of trapped in her own mind? Um, it happens sometimes, to trauma survivors, they kind of dig a hole in their minds- a safe place- for them to hide in."

"Really?" Klaus tilted his head. And M-named doctor froze, Klaus remembered something about her name. Something about her name being similar to another doctor's on some TV show that his sister watched avidly. "Well then what can we do?"

M-named doctor seemed more at ease. She gained a little confidence and dropped the waver in her voice. "There isn't much we can do. She needs to come out on her own. And no one really knows how long that is. She will come out when she's ready."

Klaus tilted his head. God, he waited waiting on other people. They always took their sweet time doing things and by the time they were ready it was already too late and shit hit the fan. Besides Rebekah complained that she was starting to see wrinkles, so there really was no time to lose. Klaus turned to look at the girl sitting on the observation table, still as a broad.

Her skin was thinner than the pages of a bible, and her blonde hair was dull, losing its yellow tint and leaning more towards something brown. Every curve of her body hinted a malnourishment, her bones seemed as light a bird. She was carved out hollow, whatever they did to her in the Facility had broken her in some way despite her being characterized as a fighter.

"Wait," M-named doctor hissed. Her eyes flickered over the screen her hands fluttering over the keyboard with rapid speed. There was a madness to her movements that Klaus knew his mere presence inspired, her felt proud at the thought. M-named doctor - Meredith, that was the fucking name - turned back to him her eyes dark.

"They used drugs on them- the girls. Highly addictive, a way to keep them compliant and docile. She'll probably pull herself out of it for a dose. We can exploit that," Meredith suggested. Klaus smiled.

"I don't want to exploit these girls. I want to help them," Klaus smiled. This smile had teeth. "Send me the name of the drugs, and give me the recommended dosage. I'll be the one to take it to her."

* * *

She was dry.

There was no water in her body, her veins felt like fire and her head hurt as if there was a bunch of wasps buzzing around in her head. Her teeth chattered, but she wasn't cold she was blazing fucking hot.

Caroline tossed and turned on her cot, the heat of the white light peeling the skin from her bones and lighting her on fire. She was going to die here in this white room.

She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying. She was dying She was dying. She was-

HOW COULD NO ONE SEE HER DYING!

This was all probably some new experiment for them. See how long she could last as they slowly did whatever this was to her. There was no shred of humanity in these people, in the scientists at the Facility, all they ever did was cause pain and suffering with their "work", God, she hated Stefan she hated him for doing this to her. Caroline shuffled, trying to kick the thin sheet off of her body, but she overestimated how large the cot was. Her world spun as she toppled over the side of the bed. Her open mouth clicked shut as her chin hit the ground.

The landing rattled through her hollow bones and made the fire inside of her grow in intensity. Caroline wanted to scream but only hoarse gasps escaped. She needed water. She needed sunlight. She was dying and it was painful. Her scars burned, the Others trying to get her to live. She had a purpose beyond they said. A purpose only she could complete but it hurt to bad.

Why did she ever bother to think of good things? Since she turned twenty-one nothing but misfortune plagued her. And why was she so stupid as to think that there was even a possibility of her grabbing happiness? Her mother was miserable, alone with a crown and hated by everyone. Her father was miserable, hating her and everything about her and living each day in abject fear. Everyone in the world was miserable and lied about it. Why did she have the gall to want otherwise. Living was misery.

Caroline hissed as a convulsion rocked her. Her hands grabbed at her clothes and tore at them revealing her nude form to the cool air. She still burned.

Cool hands touched her face, turning her towards something, but she violently pushed them away from her. The last time someone had given her that cooling soothing touch she was subjected to this hell. Oh, they were probably having a hoot in the observation room weren't they? Laughing at her, sending in Stefan probably at some attempt to...to…

The hands touched her face again and though she didn't have the strength to push them away again she turned her head away. She would not succumb like she did last time. The last time that she did she ended up in these hellish situations. A voice shushed her, clearing the hair that was sticking to her face.

"Shhhh. Sweetheart don't worry, you're going to be safe now. I'm not here to hurt you." She knew that voice. She knew it from somewhere. Caroline opened her eyes her vision was swimming but she tried to focus, but the wasps kept stinging her brain. Caroline's head rolled. "You feel bad because you don't have this."

Something was put in front of her eyes. The liquid seemed amber, dark in color, Caroline couldn't focus, but she knew what it was. "No," she let out. "No, I don't want it." Her body gave a sigh of relief.

"I know you don't. I don't want you to have it, but until we can wean you off, you need this to live," the accent made the words curl. She wondered at who this person was, why this scientist was being so nice to her. "I only want to help you sweetheart."

Caroline wanted to respond. She wanted to say something smart, to ask questions, better understand the situation she was in but she didn't know what to say. What could she ask that would verify that this person was only trying to help her? She had nothing to offer for the truth, nothing to offer for mercy.

"P-promise?" Caroline implored. Her body was itching, knowing relief was coming soon. Her arm unfolded ready to receive the relief. Caroline wanted an answer.

The scientist waited. Caroline's heart stuttered and then he answered. "I promise." She smiled, but he tied the band around her arm and pushed down on the plunger. Caroline shuddered, once, twice, and fell asleep.

* * *

It took weeks to wean them all off of whatever drug that the Facility used, then it took a little longer to get the witch's talking. They were all lost and scared, none of them knew each other except for the brief moments that they saw each other being dragged out of their cages. Today they all saw one another, forty-seven girls all stood together in a small room waiting to meet the man behind their escape, and the word was so unbelievable that none thought to utter it. To think that they were actually free was an almost impossible thought.

"I think I remember a man helping us?"

"There was a woman. I remember a woman?"

"Why are they keeping us here?"

"Did they save us only to kill us later?"

"Everyone had their own ideas, their own fears about being here. The idea of safe was too foreign a concept, a too far off dream, that the thought of these people allowing them to go free and be people again was laughable. Caroline stood in the din of girls and never opened her mouth. She never heard that British man again, none of the people who entered her room had the same voice as that man. She still couldn't recognize his face and didn't want to rely on her hazy memory of the raid.

The door opened and all the girls went silence. The fear in the room was a heady scent of sweat and spit. A man with blond curls and blue eyes walked into the room. He was handsome, dimpled cheeks and lean build, that was covered in a black sweater and matching jeans. He walk was not a walk as it was a prowl. The slim line of his figure was misleading, he had claws and fangs and he was an animal. And everyone in the room saw it, the barely contained ferocity of his gaze as he looked down at them from his podium.

"Hello, I am Niklaus Mikaelson," he said, the accent curling his words. Caroline almost jerked forward at that familiar voice. She said nothing but looked at him wide eyed. "I am the one who runs this group and I organized your freedom from that lab."

No one said anything. He continued.

"The lab you were in was run by a man named Mikael. Mikael runs a company called Organic Solutions. The company has many research innovations from cancer treatments that actually help stop and prevent cancer to technology that makes makes virtual reality so much more life like. And the reason why they were able to make such innovations is due to the kidnapping and experimentation of witches just like you.

"The facility at which you were contained was one of their medical research facilities. They were testing many things on you. Drug resistance and addiction being the most prominent. Growing his business is not Mikael's end goal though. He wants to find the last Queen and bind to her in immortality."

That got everyone's attention. The girl began muttering loudly talking about the long forgotten witch kingdom that the Salvatores tore to pieces.

"The last of the witch line died in the Salvatore fire."

"Is she really alive?"

Caroline stood frozen, trying to understand what he was saying. Mikael wanted her? To bond with? Her blood turned cold and her breath came out in pants. No she would not put herself in a situation like that again. Damon wanted something similar, but without the dedication. He didn't care about the magic in her veins he simply wanted her. And she suffered those consequences, she had all the marks and scars, she could never become a broodmare.

"You're lying!" a girl growled from the front of the room. Everyone quieted. "You're lying, the last of the royal line died out! Destroyed by people who we thought we our allies!"

Klaus tilted his head. There was a fire and feral look of his eyes was something that made all the girls flinch. Caroline got the feeling that if he did not spend time saving them, he would have subjected them to something cruel. But Caroline didn't want to think about cruel things.

"My sources tell me that she is alive," Klaus said. "They said that she is alive and Mikael is looking for her so that he could gain immortality and rule over all the witches. All so that he could run this world. His corporation is already uncontested in a lot of countries and other countries inviting his business into their country.

"I only want to prevent that from happening and that is why I helped you all. Other than keeping you from Mikael's clutches, I have no use for you and I will keep you from falling into Mikael's hands. Other than that you are all free to live your lives as you please."

He walked out the room and left them all in silence.

Free?

The girls said in the room like sitting ducks. They all just stared at the podium confused and befuddled with all the new information that had just come at them. The royal line? Mikael? Free? None of them said nothing as the doctors and nurses entered the room and began to escort them back to their rooms. Caroline said nothing as she was escorted back to her room by a brown haired doctor.

The two walked through the steel doors into the metal hallway. Everything here was different from the Facility. Instead of white everything was shades of grey, everything was just metal and bolts here. Caroline liked that she liked that it was different from the Facility and maybe they did that on purpose. Opening the door to her room, she walked in and the doctor quickly left the room.

They knew. Someone knew that she was alive, was it Stefan? Who told Mikael and who told Klaus? Did they know who knew that she was alive? It didn't matter that she was free. If she was released she would just be hunted down by Stefan and his team again. She would never be free.

The only way she could be free if Klaus offered his protection to her. She needed to come clean and tell Klaus who she was. She wouldn't go back. She refused to.

* * *

" _You can tell no one."_

" _Darling, child we can talk to you again!"_

" _We have a special task. Only you can do it, only someone of royal blood can do it."_

" _Recreate the kingdom. Make it better. Make it stronger."_

" _We believe in you darling child. A kingdom under you will flourish."_

" _Tell no one but your witches. Humans cannot be trusted."_

Caroline woke up from her dream gasping. She waited for the pain, the burning that would cause her to cry out from the pain. She waited for the pain to overwhelm her, shatter her, but nothing came. Nothing. Phantom pains were there but nothing to the earth shattering pain she usually experienced when the Others wanted to talk to her. Her hand went to her back and felt the scar. The marking that Damon left her, the scar had small lumps on it. Damon left iron embedded in the scar so that her magic would always pain her, so that she could never use it. Caroline's hands ran over the rough skin of the scar but did not feel the usual bumps and raises.

A gasp escaped her. Tears running down her face. Her magic was returned to her.

She was free.

* * *

"You know Stefan it is quite convenient that you can't tell me who the Witch Queen is."

"Mikael, if I could tell you I would, but it's the curse that the royals placed on all their allies to protect themselves. Witches are secretive."

"Apparently."

"I cannot remember the queen face, name, anything about her unless she is standing right in front of me. Shit, even then I can't even point her out unless she gives me permission."

"Smart."

"It's annoying. I know what she looks like but I have these holes in my memory. Like large chunks of it is missing, so I know I spent time with her."

"And now Niklaus might have her."

"He'll never know. I'm the only one who knows what she looks like."

"And you can't remember."

"I need to find a witch that can break the curse."

"Just use one of the witches in any of the labs."

"Those witches won't do. I need a particular kind of witch."

Mikael laughed, "My resources are at your disposal."

"Thank you."

* * *

Author's Note: You know, I get the sneaking suspicion that this story is going to be a lot darker than what I originally intended.


End file.
